Chapter 5: The Sails of Rebellion

Akira was exhausted; he had enough of castles and kings to last a lifetime.

His head was also throbbing from one too many whacks to the head. Chest too. No visible scars at the very least, so at least Sojiro...

Sojiro….Akira knew he was going to chew him out when he walked in..

"I got an interesting call from school today," Sojiro said behind the counter.

Akira could only respond with "I got lost" while cradling his throbbing head.

Sojiro continued. "You understand the meaning of probation, don't you?"

Akira nodded slowly, not being able to look him in the eye.

Sojiro sighed. "Ok, just go along. Just..stay out of trouble. I have to wrap up anyway."

As he walked up to the attic, Akira couldn't help but cough something up. Bloody sputum had come up. These "Shadows" or whatever they could do…this to didn't matter right now. Rest was first and foremost. Though, when he closed his eyes…he found himself back in a familiar place. And a familiar, grating voice.

"About time you've come to. On your feet inmate!" Caroline then beckoned him to get up with repeated strikes on the prison bars.

"Nice seeing you again," Akira grumbled.

Justine then spoke. "Our master wishes to speak with you. Take his words to heart, for your own sake."

All attention was then turned to Long Nose, once again with his chin resting on his craggy-fingered hands. "First, a toast to your special powers. Your rehabilitation, and the training of your newly awakened Persona, can begin."

Akira could only assume that by Persona he meant that….demon thing of his that went to town on those knights.

Igor continued. "I indeed have high hopes for you."

Akira started to grimace. "How is this my concern?"

He figured he saw a twitch come from Igor's right eye. "You'll come to know why in time. Anyway, how did you enjoy my Metaverse Navigator? I bestowed it upon you in your journey to be a thief."

Metaverse Navigator? Does he mean the app that looked like a phishing scam?

And last time he checked, I would be lucky to have a job at a ramen shop after high school with my record. But being a thief is off the table. Just what did he mean by….thief?

"Should there be others who prove beneficial to you, I will grant them to you as well."

Wait….others? Why even suggest…..wait...

"Igor! What did you-"

Caroline cut him off. "Enjoy the rest of your sleep, inmate."

It wasn't much sleep, since he next found himself in his bed, staring at his creaky wood ceiling. At least he got it: this…whole thing with Personas, castles, pervert teachers….it wasn't going away any time soon.

But now?

If the Nose was being truthful…

4/12, Afternoon

School had wrapped up for the day.

At least no castles popped up during the commute. Nothing special, except the teachers in the faculty lounge obsessing over pensions. More gossiping girls laughing to each other about psychotic breakdowns. This was all rather grating for him; more so than his classmates' being surprised that a delinquent like him could answer Ushimaru's questions on Plato.

Kawakami was slightly better. But then again, she was at the point of changing her last name from Kawakami to Karoshi.

And still, the red eye on his phone would not go away.

Walking out of the homeroom behind Takamaki, he saw Kamoshida come up. Something innate told Akira to stay back a bit.

"Hey there Takamaki. You probably should hitch a ride with me. Been pretty dangerous to take the train as of late." Kamoshida was towering over her right shoulder, close enough to smell whatever perfume she wore.

Takamaki was turning away from him, her arms towards the black bag on his shoulder. "Sorry, the special summer issue photoshoot is today…I can't afford to miss it."

"And how is your health? An issue with appendicitis, right?"

Her head was sunken at this point. "I've…been busy. Haven't had had time to go to the hospital. Sorry."

Akira wasn't a doctor, but he knew even from basic health class that one doesn't "sit" on appendicitis.

He leaned over to where he was in a foot of Takamaki's right ear. "Seems quite lonely, being so busy," Kamoshida responded, keeping that saccharine smile of his. "Feel bad keeping your friend at volleyball practice."

Kamoshida was about to walk down the hallway when he then turned around to try and meet Takamaki's face.

She slowly turned her face towards her towering predator.

"Be careful of the transfer student. With a criminal record like his, well….it'd be dangerous to be near him."

Right as he finished, however, he caught Akira staring at him. For Akira, it didn't matter at this point; he waved back and grinned as smugly as he could. This was probably good, as Takamaki had a window to leave.

"Excuse me," Takamaki said as she walked off in the opposite direction.

Akira began to walk down the stairs to the first floor. "Smooth, Mr. Kamoshida. Don't get a nosebleed now."

Kamoshida, being defeated on multiple fronts, grunted like an old boar and left.

At the entrance, though, Akira ran into another blondie. "Yo," Ryuji yelled out. There were some noticeable bags under his eyes today.

"What's troubling you today?"

"It's about the castle yesterday. I…wanna go back."

So I was right. Shit. "Well, I had a feeling you were gonna say this." Akira laid his back on one of the entrance walls. "Are you definitely sure about this?"

"Yeah. I mean….I tried telling myself it was a dream but….I know it wasn't. Plus…." Ryuji was starting to clench his teeth. "That….fucking Kamoshida. He's at the center of it. And…y'know, you're the only one I can rely on with this stuff. I mean….come on man, you were there!"

Given what happened, this sounds like a terrible plan, Akira thought. But…goddamnit!

Akira sighed. "Alright…what's next?" Jeez, this really is a dumb idea.

"Let's head towards the station, retrace our steps."

"Retracing our steps" to Ryuji was going back to where they met for the first time, and attempting to take the same route they took to school while noticing anything "weird". This probably won't pan out, Akira told himself. Still, he figured he'd at least let Ryuji try.

But as he expected, nothing came of it. Just a route full of roads inundated with taxis and small freight trucks; of the occasional Western boutique; of alleyways with standard recycle bins; and lastly, of Shujin herself, which was spilling forth students leaving for the day.

"Huh? School again? And no castles, huh?" Ryuji wondered. "Guess we took a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again; trust me, I won't screw up this time."

Akira knew though they didn't take a wrong turn. Still…..Ryuji was trying quite hard. He felt he should at least try to respect that.

The duo circled around again, making doubly sure the route was correct. But as predicted: no castle in the place of the school showed up.

"For real?" Ryuji yelled, hunched over in front of the school. "Is this goddamn castle just small or something?!" Ryuji decided to rest his back on the school wall. "Dude, what do you think?"

Akira shrugged. "Don't know; it's not like we can just use a phone and pop it up on GPS."

Ryuji moaned. "Tell me about it; I tried it on my GPS, and it didn't work."

Akira was silently judging Ryuji.

Wait, Akira thought. GPS? Maybe that was what the Nose-

"Hold on Akira. Didn't you have a navigation app thingy? You had something yelling 'returning back to the real world' in your pocket."

For once, Akira saw the lights turn on in Ryuji's head. "Actually, now that you mention it, I might have something."

Akira took out his phone. He was about to go to the weird app he saw before. But, before he could, Ryuji took his phone.

"Hey! What the-"

"Hol' up, what's this weird eye-looking thing?"

"I dunno," Akira remarked, tempted to snatch his phone back. "I can't delete it."

Ryuji pressed on the app. "Dude, it is a navigation app! With a search history and everything! Let's check the history on this app out. Kamoshida...Castle...Pervert teacher. Sounds like that dickhead Kamoshida alright."

"Wait, Ryuji, perhaps we shouldn't go too fa-"

There was a pair of students walking behind Akira down the stairs while Ryuji pressed the app another time.

"What the hell?!" Ryuji yelled.

What the hell indeed.

Akira's phone screen was taken over by this red eye, only for the screen to tear constantly.

Akira could see what was transpiring. The world got darker, and everything was taking on a velvet hue. The pair in front of him was getting ever more frozen, still fixated on each other's company. He assumed maybe they were talking about their favorite pop idol. Or how the yakisoba pan keeps selling out on Monday. Didn't matter to him. At that moment, they weren't people anymore. Just elements of a still life. And like his phone screen, they and the school were tearing, getting corrupted with purple and red digital noise.

Then came the ripples.

Like water, the castle bubbled through in red and black whiffs so that they were in front of the large, imposing iron gate like before.

Ryuji ran towards the castle doors like a runner in a 100-meter sprint, with Akira closely behind. The main doors were locked like before, and so Ryuji could do was to stare upward.

He then turned around to Akira. He was in a familiar garb.

"The hell? You're in that that weird mask and trenchcoat combo like before? What is with that outfit?"

Akira was too focused on the castle to notice. Another view of himself showed that Ryuji was right. His performer's garb from before was back, red gloves and all. A quick feel around his face also told him he was in masquerade as well.

"Meh, I don't know. I kinda think it looks good on me."

Ryuji groaned. "What the..you LIKE it? Nothing makes sense at all!"

"Quiet down, you dumb blonde."

The talking cat was back.

"You're making a commotion. Now, because of you planks, the Shadows are antsy. Seriously...to come back after you barely escaped. "

"Just what is this place?" Ryuji blurted out.

"To you, it's your school. But to the owner, that Kamoshia person, it's HIS castle. Whatever his distorted heart thinks of the school becomes real here."

Ryuji turned his side to the side, staring oddly at the cat.

"Stop being a moron, blondie. This is basic stuff."

Ryuji was about to rip the cat's head off, but the sound of a man writhing in agony broke the tension.

"That was probably the sound of slaves here," Morgana commented.

"Slaves? Oh, just that huh...wait, WHAT?!" Ryuji cried out.

Akira could only think of where they could be.

"The guys in cells," Akira said. "I bet those sports uniforms were Shujin-issued?"

"Yeah..." Ryuji responded. "

"Just a normal day here," Morgana commented. "Plus, when you escaped, he probably got set off."

Ryuji's right leg was starting to twitch violently.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Ryuji decided to charge shoulder-first into the door, but the door didn't budge.

"YOU HEAR ME KAMOSHIDA!? I'M GONNA-"

"Ryuji! Enough!" Morgana yelled. "He can't hear you."

Ryuji turned around. "Monamona!"

"It's Morgana!"

"Whatever. Take me to where those screams came from."

Morgana placed a paw on its chin. "...You really want me to take you to where they are, huh?"

Its head was sunken down, paws on its waistline. "Fine...but only if Akira comes."

Akira shrugged. "Might as well, given last time." Of course I'm coming! Akira told himself. After what happened, if I don't, he's going to die in 15 seconds of stepping in!

"Awesome!" Ryuji cried out while doing a fist pump.

"It's settled, then."

Back in the real world, Makoto was alone in the Student Council President Room. Duties were finished for the day, but she decided to meet with someone in particular instead of going home immediately.

The person in front of her was one Makoto had seen periodically through the halls. A meek, brown-eyed girl who always seemed in a hurry, but one that caught her attention. One with black hair, wearing a light brown, rolled-up sweater commonly worn by the school's female volleyball players. She noticed too then her hair was always in a ponytail, tied with a pink hairband.

She also sported a black leg brace on her right knee.

That made her curious. And to her, curiosity is always a terrible itch that grows worse the more it lingers. Particularly if it involves students.

The Student Council only had several members, so the school decided the council room shouldn't have much to its name. A couch by the door, glass display cases sparsely populated with old school plaques, and excess chairs. The bare minimum. In fact, the council's meeting "desk" was actually a pair of wooden lab desks hastily put together Makoto had put together at the last minute, all the while trying her best to keep the dust from them from staining her white sweater.

After a while, Makoto heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

In came her guest. Makoto was seated back by the desk. "Please, Shiho Suzui. Take a seat."

Makoto had kept her cool, but she was somewhat taken aback. Her discerning eye had caught the limping in her right leg. The rigidness in her left shoulder. The tremor is her right hand. Despite all that, though, Shiho was able to grab a spare chair and opposite some distance away.

"Thank you for taking time after volleyball practice to meet with me."

Shiho smiled weakly. "It's fine, Nijima-san. I-" Shiho coughed midway.

Makoto took note of her hoarse throat. "I hope volleyball was not too hard today."

"No...I'm fine. I'm pushing myself harder than usual."

Hopefully not too hard, Makoto thought.

Back to the task at hand.

"How are things going with volleyball? I understand this is your first time in a national championship."

"Y-Yes."

I suppose I should throw this possibility out. "Your parents must be proud, given you're just a first year." Your coach must have immense confidence in you."

The last line of hers made Shiho turn her head slightly away and straddle her black brace reflexively. It was brief, but it revealed to Makoto one thing: intense swelling. It was sadder to see this since all of the volleyball players were like this. Multicolored bruising. Open, rosy sores. These were signs of repeated trauma. What sort of training is this? she thought to herself.

Makoto leaned forward. "Has a doctor looked at that, Suzui-san?" Or rather, her parents? This...this is borderline outside the capabilities of a normal school clinic. I wouldn't be surprised if the sores weren't infected already.

"I-it's fine, Nijima-san; I just had a hard spill. It'll...go down with ice. Kamo-...coach told me it needed just some ice."

Makoto eyes dimmed slightly. There's a lead. "Perhaps your parents should take you to a doctor anyway." Shiho was fully turned away from Makoto by this point. I perhaps went too far, Makoto lamented. I need to get back to the task at hand. I did lead her in here unnecessarily. "Anyway, I bought just to check up on you. Some of your teachers complained about your grades as of late.

"Grades?"

Makoto sighed. "They aren't...terrible. Just slipping. It's concerning. Plus, there are reports you've appeared exhausted in class." Unsubstantiated, though I won't be surprised if that last point is true.

Shiho opened her mouth in vain to say something.

Very likely then, Makoto commented mentally.

"Forgive me, Suzui-san. There are many that want you to try your best. That's all. Sports are nice...but it would be a shame if you couldn't do well. Especially for upcoming midterms." By this point, Suzui's head was sunken down at her wringing hands. But, as if she had a third eye, she raised to meet Makoto's face with a stiff grin and closed eyes.

"I appreciate your concern, Nijima-san. You shouldn't worry about me so much. My parents know already about it. It's fine."

Despite this, the itch was still there in the back of Makoto's mind.

Another knock on the door. "Excuse me!" In a flash came a hurried, but quiet-sounding student with scuffs and bruises around his orbits. He bowed in apology. "Kamoshida's...wondering why you're not at practice right now." Then, he turned to Makoto, eyes faced away and his head down. "He also warns you if this will become a regular thing, Kobayakawa will have to know."

Shiho's eyes widened. Her hands were shaking.

Makoto stood up to get in front near Shiho, prepared for a poised response. "My apologies, Mishima-kun. Tell Kamoshida that it was an academic matter. She'll be here shortly." She motioned Shiho to stand up and get going. When she did, however, she held her back for a brief moment. "Shiho, if you're ever in distress, please don't hesitate to ask for help. Have a good day."

And with that, Shiho went off to practice, and Makoto was once again alone in the room, now on the couch. She placed her right thumb on her chin.

As much as you tried, Suzui-san, you've given me enough clues to feel especially confident about my assumption. All the other times, the people I brought in last year as the Vice President only had small bruises, so I waved it off as normal training accidents.

But then, again...those people weren't as transparent as you, Suzui-san.

The bruising. The swelling. It's worse than before. And more people like you, Suzui-san, are showing up in the hallway, conveniently as the championships are coming up.

The more I see it, the more the rumors are starting to seem true. This can't be just a rough training regimen. This is abuse. No question.

The old coach, I remember from two years back, never had this problem.

But Kobayakawa though...The less he knows about it and the more I can operate under his nose, the less likely Kamoshida can spin a story to explain himself. For the time being, I can't let Kamoshida be suspicious. Yet.

She brushed away the stray hair strand in front of her face and fiddled nervously with her hairband. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if that boy with facial scars was on the volleyball team too."

I can't though go to the staff without someone's testimony. But I doubt anyone from the team would be that willing to, if I have Suzui-san to go on.

Plus, why haven't her parents brought this up to someone already?

She pressed her fingers into her forehead.

This doesn't make sense!

And then there was what Akira said:

"Because doing the right thing doesn't make the world right."

I wouldn't have expected this from someone I've met just this week...but he has a point. One good deed doesn't necessarily change things automatically. And if it's Kamoshida we're talking about...I would most likely need a good portion of the team to confess at this rate.

She laid back on the couch and signed. "What would Sis do? What...would Dad do?"

Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana got back into the castle using the vents they found during their last escape. Akira and Morgana had noticed that with the Shadows being vacant in the main hall, heading back down to the dungeons was more straightforward than last time.

"This place STILL gives me the creeps," Ryuji lamented. "How large is this castle anyway?"

"Can't say; the highest I've been is the first floor, and then I got caught when they rushed me in one of the side hallways. Does seem to be huge like other Palaces though."

"So there's more of these?" Akira wondered.

"Yes," Morgana replied. "Anyone with enough of a distorted desire can have a Palace like Kamoshida does."

"This is...troubling," Akira replied.

They had just gotten across the moat where they encountered the Pixies last time when they heard the shuffles of metal.

"Crap!" Morgana cried out. Morgana scanned around when he noticed a ripply door. "Perfect! Everyone, past that door now!"

"Wait, you pudgy cat!" Ryuji exclaimed. "How is this supposed to..."

Akira then dragged Ryuji by the collar. "No time! Trust him for now and get in!"

The three shuffled in the room as fast as possible and shut the door behind them with all of the force and speed they could muster. Ryuji was breathing hard at this point, but Akira held a finger to his own mouth to signal to him to be quiet.

The three of them held their breath for what felt like an hour while they were hearing nightmarish sounds interspersed with the clanging on armor outside the door.

Akira could hear the Shadow's warbled voices on the other side of the door:

"Weird...I thought I heard something."

"Either way...what about the slaves?"

"They're in the training hall below us. They're probably screaming in pain right now."

"Very well. Continue your patrols."

It seems they shuffled off, Akira thought. "Morgana, I'm surprised they didn't catch us in here."

"That because a Palace is the distortion of one's own desires. What the owner desires of a place, it will be so. The projection, this 'will,' can be stronger and weaker in some areas, so..."

"So what?" Ryuji asked.

"So it means that...this room is one of those weak spots, and the Shadows can't 'project' themselves or have a presence in this room, right?" Akira quipped.

Morgana smiled. "...It's so refreshing to have someone with a fast acceptance of such things." All of a sudden, the room began to phase back and forth between being an empty room with wine caskets to a normal, vacant classroom at Shujin, tables included.

"What the...is this a classroom?" Ryuji cried out while rubbing his eyes.

"It's what Kamoshida imagines a classroom to be," Morgana replied. "His heart has created a new reality based on what he sees in his world. Now, do you understand, Blondie?"

"...So, this is how an asshole sees Shujin, eh? What a piece of shit..."

Morgana turned to Akira. "He really doesn't like this guy, does he?"

"HATE IS THE BARE MINIMUM," Ryuji quipped. "EVERYTHING, FROM GODDAMN TRACK TO EVERYTHING ELSE, IS HIS FAULT."

"I don't know the history between you two, but you got to have a clear head," Morgana replied. "His lackeys are everywhere. You barely survived last time against the projections, and I can only do so much." He then turned to Akira. "Speaking of projections, I bet you're curious about the duds. That's part of the world too."

"And how is that?" Akira replied.

"This is is just more stuff not making sense to me," Ryuji said with his head down.

"Your will to resist, the power of rebellion held within you, is clashing against the desires of the one who created the Palace."

Ryuji was grunting. "Still doesn't make sense!" Ryuji's eyes lit up again. "And wait, why would I care about his trenchcoat?" Ryuji said while pointing at Akira. "I should ask about the talking cat and why it's here."

"Human," Morgana retorted.

"What?"

"I'm a human."

"No," Ryuji replied. "You're a cat.

"Well, for now. I am definitely a human. Maybe."

"Maybe?" The other two asked in unison.

"I guess...I lost my form." Morgana then looked around, seeming like he was searching for the next words to come out of his mouth. "I was casing this place so I could find some lead about what I am. Then, that jerk Kamoshida caught me and had his guards throw me around like a racquetball in a cell." He turned stared intensely at Akira. "I'm going to continue to investigate this castle, and when I find Kamoshida, ima shove my foot up his ass. And you're going to help me this time."

"Hold up guys!" Ryuji yelled. "I don't got that 'power' shit you guys have, but I wasn't planning on standing by either." He then pulled up the front part of his shirt to pull out what seemed like a small pistol with an innocent grin to boot. "I brought it just in-OW"

Akira swiftly slapped Ryuji across the back of his hand. "Wait, you've been carrying that at school the whole time?" Akira yelled.

"...Just for a few hours."

"Like that makes it even better."

"But it just makes gun sounds. It's a toy, but it looks real. I reckoned it would scare some of those guys off!" Ryuji whimpered. "And hey, don't get mad at me; I brought some medicine too." He then pulled out two boxes of cheap, over the counter generic pain reliever.

"Oh brother," Morgana groaned.

"I did my best!" Ryuji complained.

Akira scowled. "GIMME THAT." Akira swiped the gun out of his hand, only to examine it closer.

Hmm...om the bright side, it could have fooled me. Wait...depending on what this was used for, that probably isn't a good thing.

Akira then put the gun away in an empty jacket pocket; his coat surprisingly had a lot of storage space.

Morgana sighed. "Ok, then, ignoring Ryuji's questionable plan, we'll continue with our investigation. Stay close, Rookie."

Morgana slowly pushed out the door so that the cracks to outside were visible. Just as their ears suggested, they had gone away from the hallway. "Looks clear. Let's head to this training hall."

The trio then descended into a set of similar-appearing, snaking corridors, its walls littered with small, empty cells and barely hot torches. A purple, malicious miasma was down below, and the air carried the faint traces of what seemed like screams. The three followed the screams to a corner. Around that corner a hallway leading to a room with a small bench in the center and two Knights pacing around its four empty corners. Behind it was a wooden door with a red-lettered banner overhead.

"Ok, Rookie," Morgana said, beckoning Akira to inch up to the corner with him. "Here's what I want you to do. You see the blue masks these guys have?" Akira nodded. "We're going to pounce-one each-and rip them off. I've been around here in the castle to know how these Shadows are. Ripping them off can disorient them."

"Ripping them off?" Akira commented. "And then, what? We...stab them in the face?"

"You'd be surprised how well this helps conserve your stamina in expeditions like this."

"Ok then," Akira said. "On your lead." Akira had his knife, glistening as ever, positioned in his hand to strike downwards.

Several seconds later, the Knights were set up around the table so that they were facing the door. Morgana had jumped on the moment, launching off Akira's back. "I have left," Morgana whispered overhead.

That's a cue if I've ever seen one, Akira told himself as he launched off the ground. Akira was slightly rusty, but he kept Morgana's pace. At the opening of the room, each sidestepped to their targets. Akira's target had started to turn at the sound of his weighty footsteps. Akira then sprung off its shoulder to land on its head. With his left hand, he ripped off the mask to reveal crimson eyes piercing the pitch black inside the suit. Then, a quick jab, and the Knight dissolved into a black smudge. Akira turned his head to the right to see Morgana having similar results.

"Nice work, Rookie."

Ryuji formed back up with the rest of the team, with one of his legs slightly dragging. "Damn, guys. That was awesome! This is making me mad that I can't do anything right now." His head then drifted to the banner above the door. "Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love? What the-"

"-Fuck?" Ugh. Akira saw the banner too. The phrasing conjured up some rather disturbing ideas of what would be on the other side of the door.

"Anyways, the screams we heard earlier are definitely on the other side of the door." The cat creaked open the door. "Clear." The other two then followed.

In front of them was a small, concrete bridge arching over one of the castle's many creeks. The screams were at this blood-curdling, and reverberating off what seemed like cells in front of them.

Ryuji suddenly jogged forward ahead of them in anticipation. He then stopped at the cells. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Akira, after his outburst, had finally caught up to the cell bars. Akira, despite his calm demeanor during the investigation, became visibly perturbed by what he was seeing.

Student-athletes trapped in a volleyball court below, taking a beating from the flat ends of several swords, all wielded by the Knights. A boy strapped from the cell ceiling being hit repeatedly by cannon-shot volleyballs, each hit producing blood that dripped down below. Students on the court awning limping around like zombies, and bandaged like war victims.

Ryuji frantically tried to pull the bars away. "GODDAMNIT, GET ME IN THERE!"

"Ryuji, keep your voice down! They're going to hear below!" Morgana commanded in a hushed tone.

"THEY'RE BEING TREATED LIKE SLAVES! THIS IS SO MESSED UP!" Ryuji then searched violently in his pockets for his phone. "Lemme take a snapshot! These guys are on Kamoshida's team. If I can get their photos-" Ryuji pressed repeatedly on his phone. "The hell? I can't take pictures!"

Akira checked his phone. "Just the Navigation App works. Everything else is purple static."

"DAMMIT!" Ryuji yelled while attempting to squeeze the life out of his phone with both hands. "I could have taken down Kamoshida with this!"

"It's...useless..."

Two players were walking up to them. One in long pants, and the other in short pants and with his legs bandaged.

"Our best hope is to follow Kamoshida's bottom line. Else we risk getting executed...like you two," whimpered the Slave in Shorts.

"You seriously prefer to be trapped like this?!" Ryuji yelled out.

"Do you want to be crippled like him?" the Slave in Long Pants added. He pointed down to the far right a small cell. The trio had walked over to find a blond-haired student in a Shujin tank-top, rolling around on the ground. Ryuji slowly walked over to get a look at this person.

"...This kid...why does he look so familiar?" Ryuji commented out loud. He took a closer look at his shoes. They had a red spot by the ankles. "Wait...no way...you can't be..."

"Ryuji, what's going-" Akira had to do a double take; he knew what had Ryuji freaked out. In the cell was another Ryuji, Its eyes were glassy white, and its skin was pale blue. This other Ryuji dragged itself on the ground towards the bars, gasping for air. A look at its legs showed why: an emaciated calf fractured halfway, with the bone barely breaking the skin.

Morgana moved up to Ryuji's right side. "All of these guys here are what this Kamoshida thinks of these people. Slaves. And given how strong and 'creative' these projections are-" He stared at the other Ryuji, and then back to Ryuji proper "-I wouldn't be surprised if this abuse is happening in real life to the same people."

For Akira, things had become clear. He knelt down near Ryuji. "Ryuji...your leg. It's been lagging ever since I've met you...it's from Kamoshida, isn't it?"

Trying to gnash his teeth into dust, Ryuji kept punching the ground with his fists. "DAMNIT! DAMNIT! GODDAMNIT!" He closed his eyes as hard as he could, seemingly to squeeze what he had just seen out of his mind.

Akira then heard the knights shuffling from below.

"INTRUDERS! AFTER THEM!"

"Guys! They heard us! We gotta head to the exit. NOW!" Morgana cried.

Akira then proceeded to get Ryuji off the ground. "C'mon, let's move!"

And so the three of them ran like a bat out of hell back into the dungeon corridors, with dozens of shadow Knights on their tail. While the three were running, they were transforming into two-horned beasts, appearing similar to horses and ready to give chase. Akira took a quick look behind his back to find that the Knights had turned a stampede. "Morgana, do you have any suggestions for this?!"

A panicked silence. And then:

"Wait, Rookie! The gun!"

"How is that gun gonna help!? It shoots pellets!" Ryuji asked, breathing heavily.

"JUST DO IT!

Akira, having nothing to lose, pulled out the toy pistol from his coat pocket. Continuing to run, he shot over his shoulder. The gun made a sound, like Ryuji mentioned. What Akira didn't expect, however, was after the first shot, one of the two-horned beasts giving chase keeled over and was left behind. Morgana followed after with a quick flick of a slingshot. Morgana's shot landed between the eyes of another horned beast.

"What the hell?" Akira cried out. "HOW?!"

Galloping forward, Morgana answered. "This is a world of cognition. If things look real enough, then they can take on the effects of real-life objects. Shoot again!"

"This seems awfully convenient, but...I'm not willing to complain!"

Akira and Morgana ran slightly ahead of the group and turned around. Meeting the stampede head on, they each proceeded to shoot seven shots. One by one, a beast fall down and be trampled over into black, wispy smoke by the rest of the group. More were coming from the lower floors, however, so they kept on running. They were able to get to the main hall when the way to the vents was blocked by none other than King Kamoshida and a few of his Knights, one of which was wearing golden armor.

Much to Akira's dismay, the Shadow Kamoshida still had not shaved and was still wearing a pink speedo.

"You knaves again?" Shadow Kamoshida sneered. At this point, Ryuji was out of breath and reaching back for his leg, his face wincing slightly. Looking at Ryuji, he continued with a self-satisfied grin. "How far the mighty track star has fallen. I bet you're in pain right now, but it's nothing compared to the pain of your teammates. You know, the ones you who dragged under with your...selfish act." He then looked at Akira. "This fool dragged you into here without telling you how unreliable he truly is. How he sold out his teammates, and how carefree he is about it."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE DAMNIT!" Ryuji yelled, still on the ground.

"Tch...whatever. You'll all unlucky. You all are going to die here. Knights, clean this garbage up."

Kamoshida stepped behind his Knights while the remaining horned beasts from before made a running circle around Akira and company. At this point, the golden knight has transformed into a red, heavily armored knight, holding a long, sharp thrusting lance and riding a white-maned, black-haired horse. All the while, the shadows chanted "Kill!" in unison.

Shit, this is bad. Really bad, Akira dismayed.

One by one the horned horses charged at the three, each with their backs against one another. Akira and Morgana had summoned their Personas and had their ranged weapons. Charging one by one, each of the horses that charge met a swift end.

"Hey Morgana!"-Akira kept firing madly at the stampede-"I'm wondering right now? Is there an ammo limit to these types of weapons?"

"Of course there is! Did you expect a cognitive trick like this to last forever? Cognitions naturally catch up to this type of stuff. You picked the worst time to ask this!"

As if Lady Misfortune were hearing the conversation, Akira's gun clicked. No bullets already!? He hastily put the gun in his coat pocket and proceeded to the tried and true art of Persona. "Arsène! Rip their horns off!"

"Zorro! Rip them apart!" Morgana then cried.

Arsène grabbed one of the horses by its horns and pinned it down to slash its throat with its sharp fingers. Zorro meanwhile summoned a gust at another. The gust, though, didn't make a scratch on the target horse and charged into Morgana, launching him onto Akira. The horse rider then moved in for the finishing blow: a kick from the horse.

The horse rider had Akira totally pinned under the weight of his steed.

Morgana had his head slightly raised off the ground. "Pieces of sh-" Before Morgana could complete that thought, Kamoshida put his foot on Morgana's back. "Oh Sakamato, I bet you went here on a whim and ended up here, didn't you?"

"...No.."

"Pieces of trash, raising their hands at me. Getting emotional so quickly. Look where that got you, Sakamoto. Look where it got your friends. I think I'd deserve better, especially when I helped your coach out."

"Bullshit!" Ryuji yelled, still flat on the ground. "Since when does a volleyball player give a shit about a track team?"

"Pfft. Doesn't matter anyway. Teams like track were an eyesore to me anyway. The results should belong to me!" He knelt to the ground to meet Ryuji's eyes. "What, you're going to bark at me? Try and strike me again. You want me to break your other leg too?"

"Dammit...am I going to lose again?" Ryuji told himself.

Well...this might be it, Akira lamented. My apologies, Dad; look like I'm not coming back to the car shop.

He then remembered Igor's words. That he gave the app to certain people to assist in his quest.

It's a long shot...

"RYUJI" Akira grunted. "You're going to seriously take it up the ass from some dumbass jock in a pink bikini? Last time I checked, you were ready to ram yourself into one of these Knights here to save my life. Now, stand up for yourself this time!"

"Akira...you're right." Ryuji then got off the ground to stand on his feet.

"Huh. Care to stand while I execute these scum in front of you?" Kamoshida jeered.

"No, Kamoshida. You're the scum here." Ryuji limped towards Kamoshida. "Using people to blow smoke up your ass...you're a real piece of shit."

"Guards! What are you doing? Silence him!" Kamoshida ordered suddenly.

Ryuji felt a creeping, burning pain in the top of his head. "Now...STOP LOOKIN' DOWN ON ME WITH THAT STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE!"

A "familiar" voice in Ryuji's head butted in:

You've kept me waiting for too long.

Ryuji's head felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly with meat cleavers. Like it was going to explode. Ryuji was reduced to his knees, yelling intensely.

You seek power, correct? Then let's form a pact.

His eyes, now yellow, were constricted to a pinpoint as he turned himself over in desperation. He started to hear a low-pitch drone in his ears.

"The other you" who exists within desires it thus.

Ryuji then desperately tried to fidget about, pleading to make it stop.

I am thou, Thou art I...There is no turning back! The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!

A small flame appeared around Ryuji's face, only to dissipate as quickly as it formed. In place: a skull's mask, made of polished, hardened steel.

Ryuji reached with both hands the inner part of his mask...

"What can you do, whelp?" The Horse Rider jeered as he pointed his lance towards Akira. "Now...sit back and watch!"

Ryuji ripped the skull mask along with the skin under to produce a bloody puddle. With that came an intense burst of energy, one which knocked back Kamoshida and the shadows into the stairs.

Akira, free from having a ton on his back, looked in front of him. What he saw gave him hope; Ryuji wearing a buttoned-up, leather coat and in leather jeans; wearing thick yellow gloves and holding a rusty iron pipe; having a red sailor's shawl tied around his neck; and most importantly, a Persona hovering above him.

His Persona was a pirate skeleton chained to a mast-less galleon, with a cannon in place of its right forearm. Its red eye-its right was covered with an eye patch-stared menacingly ahead. And Ryuji seemed like a kid in a candy store.

"This effin' ROCKS!" Ryuji roared, donning his new metal skull mask. He glared intensely at Kamoshida, who had barely got himself up from the stairs. "Let's get some payback!"

"Yes, Ryuji," Akira replied, now up and brandishing his weighted blade. "Let's."

The Horse Rider Captain rallied the horned beasts around him, his voice getting more monstrous and distorted. "HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME, YOU BRAT!" He, along with his horde, charged at the trio.

"Captain Kidd! BLAST THEM AWAY!" Captain Kidd then aimed at the incoming stampede and fired a bolt of lightning that hit the Horse Captain head on. The explosion swallowed the group charging at them, producing a cloud of dust. A few seconds, the cloud subsided, and Ryuji saw the damage. All of the horned beasts laid on the ground, twitching and singed, and then dissolved. The Horse Captain, hunched over on his steed, was still alive. "What troublemakers that both King Kamoshida with trifling matters!"

"Damn right I'm one! If Kamoshida's cognition ain't going to change, then neither will my trouble-making ass!"

"Guys, he's exposed! It's time for an All-Out Attack!"

"All-out Attack, Morgana?" Akira replied.

"Attack all at once! Make sure to get him off his stupid horse!"

"Roger that!" Ryuji yelled out.

On Ryuji's yell, the Horse Captain, lance raised, and the party charged at each other head-on. The Captain attempted to thrust at Morgana, only for Morgana to jump on the lance and launch off it. Above him, Morgana pulled out his slingshot to fire the rest of his "rounds" at the Captain's head, cracking off his helmet.

The Captain fumbled a bit, trying his best to say in his seat.

My turn.

"Arsène!" Akira summoned Arsène, and the two charged next. Arsène jabbed its claws in the Captain's breastplate, knocking him off his horse. Meanwhile, Akira took hold of its horse's mane and sliced at its throat repeatedly. The horse did not last for long.

Now, the three were over the Captain, whom Arsène was skewering to the ground. Strained, it attempted to speak. "I...am...a loyal subject...of King Kamoshida. Why...have...I lost?"

Ryuji smirked, laying his new pipe on his shoulder. "Guess...King Kamoshida ain't hot shit like he believes himself to be." He then took a swing at the Captain's head like a golfer at a tee. And then another. And another. And another, producing more and more black bits on the floor, until its head was unrecognizable. By that point, it began to evaporate.

Ryuji panted heavily. "Holy shit...THAT WAS AWESOME!" He turned back to Kamoshida, who was still standing by the stairs. "How 'bout that, you hairy sicko? Even if you apologize now, I ain't gonna forgive a piece of shit like you."

Kamoshida though still have that "stupid grin" on his face like before. "This is still my castle, idiot." He waved his right hand. Coming stage left was-

Takamaki-san?

And not just Takamaki-san from his class. It was Takamaki-san in a purple leopard swimsuit and cat ears.

"What the hell, Kamoshida? What is Takamaki doing here?"

"Takamaki? What a beautiful name for a meow-velous and beautiful girl!" Morgana exclaimed.

Catty Takamaki laid herself on Shadow Kamoshida's right shoulder, fawning over him. King Kamoshida in return petted her neck like a pet.

"Let go of her, you perv!" Ryuji yelled.

Kamoshida chuckled. "My castle, my rules. What I want, I do." He turned to meet Cat Takamaki's pleading eyes. "Women adore me. Even women who hate my guts like that nosy bitch President with the weird brown hair braids wish they could get to me."

...Nosy President? Hair braids? Wait...don't tell me...

He then turned to the trio at hand, having a slimy sneer on his face. "And slow, dim-witted thieves like you get jealous when you see the types I get. Typical, given that women aren't drawn to trouble-making punks like you."

"TAKAMAKI! SPEAK UP!" Ryuji cried, his voice near cracking.

Wait though...should I be jealous right now? Akira looked closer at their catty guest. Wait... "Something's off guys. I think this one is not real."

"Akira's right, Ryuji! It's just another cognition!"

"GUARDS! SILENCE THEM!" Kamoshida ordered. Out from the ground and via a purplish splash came three new knights, swords ready.

"This is bad, guys; we'll be outnumbered at this rate," Morgana commented.

The cat's right; we barely survived the last round, and Ryuji's still messed up from before.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LEAVE AND NOT DO ANYTHING!" Ryuji yelled, stepping forward.

Akira wasn't going to give him a choice. "I'm not getting us killed right now," Akira replied, grabbing him from behind and pulling him back.

"Hey dude, what the hell are you doing?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Just be quiet and keep going," Akira replied curtly.

"Nghh...FINE. I swear to god, though, Kamoshida. We'll expose you, no matter what. You better be ready for us!"

"Good," King Kamoshida replied. "I look forward to torturing you. I was getting tired of my current prisoners anyway. Come anytime when you don't care about living anymore."

Running back to their escape route, Akira could see Shadow Kamoshida cackling with malicious glee as his soldiers began to advance in a phalanx, with swords pointed towards the party. Despite their insistence, the guards didn't catch on to where they were heading and easily lost them in the side hallways.

Making it outside, Ryuji once again had to catch his breath. "Goddamn, I need to run more," Ryuji said. He then turned his attention to his new costume. "Hey, I don't remember changing into this."

"Welcome to my world," Akira replied. "Either way, it looks good. It suits you."

"Should I be happy about this? Oh well, it doesn't look as bad as yours," Ryuji replied

Akira glared. "Nevermind, you look like a thug."

"Dick." Ryuji then realized something. "Shit, what about Kamoshida in the real world? We're still screwed because of this whole castle nonsense."

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "You're sharp...for an idiot. Relax. Palaces here represent repressed feelings, a part of them that person doesn't want to see. Whatever goes on here is going to unrecorded by the person in the real world. Besides, did the real Kamoshida remember the execution attempt?"

"Nope."

"There you go. Now about our deal..."

"Deal? What deal?" Ryuji replied.

"Uhh...did you guys forget?"

The other two stared blankly at the cat.

Morgana shook his head and closed his eyes to groom himself. "Idiots. To remind you...I cooperated with you and acted all nice and trained you so you could help me with my investigation. I need to correct my distortion and regain my true form, and to do that, you're going to help me go down to Memen-"

Akira and Ryuji had walked away while Morgana was talking.

"DONT TELL ME YOU'RE LEAVING? ESPECIALLY YOU Frizzy Hair, when you're already part of my master plan?!"

"It's Akira. And maybe next time. Too tired today." Akira continued to jaunt with the purest of insouciance.

"Is it because I'm not human? Because I'm like a cat?" Morgana used his hind legs to scratch behind his ears. "Is that why you're making a fool of me!?"

"Man I'm hungry. I know this ramen place when we get back. I'm buying."

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL! DON'T IGNORE ME! Ugh seriously, why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky dory?!"

"Some pork belly might be nice," Akira replied to Ryuji.

"OH HELL NO! Get back here! ...Grr...GRAAAGHHH!"

"Isn't this Beef Bowl so effin' awesome?!" Ryuji cried.

Akira was letting its steam collect on his glasses. "It's nice."

"Hey, you're not eating. What, you have a stomachache?"

Akira smiled at Ryuji. "Nope. Just tired." In truth, being headbutted by a supernatural horse goat made it hard to bend over to eat.

Well, at least this wasn't curry. Plus, he paid for the meal; I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He decided to plunge in. The teriyaki in his bowl was nice and succulent. A+ material.

"So, tell me about yourself," Ryuji said.

"You get straight to the point. Ok, then. I reckoned since you had your secrets spilled out a bit...What do you want to know?"

Ryuji's mouth was full again with meat and rice. "You neva told muh why your even here in Tokio."

Akira couldn't help but chuckle a bit in the back of his throat at Ryuji's disgusting habits. "Well, if you're asking me why I'm here, then I guess in short...I 'stuck my nose in adult business.' At least, according to my guardian, Sojiro."

"Sounds like your guardian is being shitty like adults can be."

"Yeah...still not sure about him. At the very least, he's not remotely close to Kamoshida." Akira paused to lay back in his seat. "Lately, I guess I'm tired of not being given a chance. Sojiro is just ONE disappointing example."

"Damn...that sucks. Really...kinda sounds like what I'm feeling right now."

Ryuji took this time to stuff his face once again. "Well, if it's Shujin you're going to, then you're living around Shibuya, right?"

Akira nodded. "Sojiro has a coffee shop set up in Yongen."

"Yongen? No shit, I used to live there where I was younger. You could always get all of the old, weird electronics there. Wait, you live in a shop?"

"...Yeah. In a dusty attic on a little futon bed."

Ryuji's face drooped slightly. "Damn, that's real shitty. What, the old man doesn't have a house?"

Akira shrugged. "He does. Beats me though as to why. Probably is a lonely codger who doesn't like me taking up all of the couch space."

Ryuji stared at Akira confusedly. He pulled out his phone to type something in. "Oh, so that's what codger means! You're a fancy speaker, Akira."

"Nevermind."

"Oh come on, what's the 'adult business' he's talking about?"

Akira's left eye was twitching. His mind was getting stuck on that moment again.

Luckily for him, he slipped out of it as fast as he slipped in. "I got probation since I stopped someone from getting raped."

"WHAT!?" Ryuji slammed down his bowl on the restaurant counter. "ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT!"

"Jeez," Akira replied. "I'm still eating, you know. But yes, I got in front of some bald asshole in sunglasses who was assaulting this lady-"

"THE HELL? YOU CAN'T GET ANY SHITTIER THAN THAT ASSHOLE."

"I. Said. I'm. Eating."

"...Sorry." Ryuji then scooped the rest of his bowl into his mouth. "So whait, nowhun's herd you out, or triuard to?

He was starting to see the deep browns of her eyes being illuminated in the sunset.

"One...maybe?"

Ryuji raised another eyebrow. "Maybe?! What does that mean?"

Akira's mind went back to her deep brown eyes in the sunset.

"A girl. I would have included my guardian by default, but I think he only knows the bare minimum."

"Dude!" Ryuji slapped his hand on Akira's shoulder. "He's supposed to be your guardian! Of course he should know!"

Akira then noticed Ryuji slip into a toothy smile.

Oh no...he's going to ask, is he?

"Who was she? Was she hot?" Ryuji asked, with the biggest lewd grin.

"Not telling you who she is. She probably wouldn't appreciate it if I told someone who produces that type of grin when he hears something about potentially attractive women."

She'd be elegant about it though. She'd probably beat your soul down with intense mental judgment. That, or drag you by the ear like your mother would when she's angry.

"Ah c'mon..."

Akira sighed. "I guess she was...cute. But that's all you're going to get today."

Ryuji scoffed. "Fineee. Anyways...parents? Sisters?"

Akira scrunched his eyes slightly. "What about them?"

"Got anything back home?"

"Ehh...technically yes. Keeping it short...they...don't usually see eye to eye. Having a sister helped. But..." Akira bit his tongue for a moment. "Let's just say for now I'm kind of on my own. Sister won't be coming to help."

"...Dude. That sounds like the shittiest situation to be in."

"It's ok. I've done my best to deal with things."

Yeah...simple.

Akira saw Ryuji sinking his head awkwardly into his tea, like a sad dog sinking its head into a water bowl.

Akira smiled at Ryuji. "C'mon, relax. I'm fine. Honest." A sincere pause. Then, Ryuji stared at Akira's bowl again, only to place more ginger there. "Seriously, eat more."

"I can scoop the ginger myself, you know."

"Just lemme do it. Besides, it's my way of thanking you for helpin' me out. Besides, we're both for taking it to Kamoshida, right?"

Akira then turned to meet Ryuji's eyes-wide expression staring at him straight in the face. He took a deep breath and then smiled back. "Sure; somebody has to."

"You're the best, man. Gimme your cell phone and chat ID." While they were exchanging information, Ryuji continued with the plan. "We have a dumb volleyball rally tomorrow. Kamoshida highly recommends going. Makes me wanna gag. Mostly will just be a game of coaches vs. students. The most important thing though is that there are no classes, so we can slip in and out of places unnoticed."

Akira chuckled. "You've actually thought this through this time. Sounds good."

"Now where were we..." Ryuji continuously loaded Akira's bowl with pickled ginger. "C'mon, we have too much ginger; eat up. It's rush hour anyway, so you should sit back and wait until you go home."

Thanks, mom; next you're going to tell me to finish my vegetables since I'm a growing boy.

The sky was pitch black when Akira pulled up into LeBlanc and was greeted with the faint whiffs of wet, burnt coffee grounds. Despite being past closing hours, the lights were still on inside. Sojiro was on the middle barstool, doing crosswords as usual with his usual, stony expression. "I take it"-said Sojiro while sipping a coffee-"you went to school this time today?"

"I did."

Sojiro then had a tortured pause. To Akira, it seemed like he was holding the first response in his mind back.

"Eh, as long as you're not getting into your trouble, it's fine by me." He then yawned and threw his newspaper into one of the eating booths across from him. "Behave yourself." Sojiro put on his white fedora and locked up the place.

Outside, he turned the sign to walk down the alleyway. "You better be right about him, Ryuzaki. Else I won't be so nice to your furry friend next time," he muttered to himself.

Out of sight, Akira pushed down the door shutter so that no one could see him. Not needing to appear alright, let down his guard. He collapsed in one of the eating booths and quickly took off his jacket to examine himself. He palpated his sides for any fractures or anything abnormal.

Nothing apparently wrong. And yet, I feel so exhausted and sore.

The Providin, Akira felt, was woefully ill-equipped to handle the general soreness he was dealing with it. Better than nothing though. He took a couple of tablets, hoping it would alleviate some of the pain.

A long, cold shower later, he was dressed in his lounge clothes, sitting hunched over on his bed.

His phone buzzed. It was Ryuji.

Ryuji: Hey, I decided to go ahead and message you?

Ryuji: Can you see this?

A mischievous smirk was on Akira's face.

Akira: Nope.

Ryuji: Whoops. Lemme try again.

Ryuji: WAIT NO you definitely saw it if you responded. Funny

Ryuji: Anyway, thanks again for back there.

Ryuji: I'm going to be counting on you tomorrow, ok?

Akira: Got it.

Ryuji: You're a real bro, man.

Ryuji: Welp, see you tomorrow!

He was about fall asleep, but he had something overdue.

Let's see if there's any of Sojiro's cooking left.

Hobbling down the stairs, he made his way to the back. He noticed Sojiro left some curry in the slow cooker. He scooped up some curry in a spoon to smell. Mhmm...apples this time. Quite aromatic. He then put some in a small soup bowl and dragged himself back to the attic.

Next was the...

Butsudan. I doubt though good ol' Sojiro has an altar laying about in a coffee shop.

His eyes then turned to the pile of unsorted books next to his bed.

Well, if I arrange them a certain way...

He then sorted the uneven pile of old government manuscripts into an even, resting surface for the curry.

Last thing was some incense. Luckily, his uncle sent along some through his parent's care package. He hobbled down to the kitchen stove downstairs to light them on the stove.

Rather than laying down the incense like he normally would, he decided that setting them down on old, browned books and potentially setting LeBlanc on fire was a bad thing. He held his hands in prayer, with the incense between his fingers.

"Apologies; the past few days have been hectic, Sis. Hope curry is to your liking."

He gave way to silence, letting his inner self speak.

So...

Surprisingly, I've met a couple of interesting people, to say the least. I've also gotten into some "slightly" hairy situations as of late. I probably let down Mom and Dad by being involved in this Palace nonsense. I've already caused them enough trouble. Having another dead Kurusu...Amamiya...whatever the courts decide for a family name once that whole business gets settled...it wouldn't make anything better.

But...

I can't just abandon the people around me. Whether I want to or not.

I can't promise that taking down this teacher is going to change things at Shujin.

Might not.

Might make things worse.

That isn't the point.

For now, I'm on protection duty

But, I won't repeat the same mistakes I did when I was younger, Sis.

This time...I won't lead anyone to his or her death from egotistical desires.

I will bring everyone out alive.

That's my promise to you. The closest thing I'll ever have to bringing you back.

He blew out the incense and laid on his bed.

His eyes got heavy. As they were closing, his mind drifted to Shadow Kamoshida.

"Nosy bitch President with the weird hairbraids" huh?

Tired, he drifted back to the sunset on the school top once more. Then of Shibuya.

"I'm not...going to let...him...get to you...Prez"

Notes: Whew, this took a bit. But I'm finally over this narrative hump! As of 6/8, I will take three days to proofread the crap out of what I have, since I noticed that my older chapters need a lot of grammatical revision.

As for the next chapter, I will try and shoot for the next one "Bloodhound," to be within two to three weeks. I will need to move again starting next week, though, so we'll see.

Stay tuned...